


A Change In Fate

by Queenzie



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Gen, Manga refrences (not direct spoilers), Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2018-09-19 10:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 19,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9435887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenzie/pseuds/Queenzie
Summary: Once upon a time, in a land faraway, there were three neighboring kingdoms; Paradis, Marley and Eldia.Paradis was ruled by the Yeager family, Marley was ruled by the Reiss family and Eldia was ruled by the Leonhardt family.In Paradis there lived a prince named Eren, who would soon meet someone who would change his life, a personal knight that had put on a facade to serve him.In Eldia there lived an unhappy princess named Annie who had hoped for nothing but to leave the castle and live differently, accompanied by her two childhood friends and personal knights, Reiner and Bertholdt.





	1. Once Upon a Time

_**Once Upon A Time in a Kingdom Called Paradis...** _

 

Paradis was a beautiful and peaceful kingdom, ruled by a royal family called the Yeagers.

 

King Grisha and Queen Carla, along with their two sons, the oldest named Zeke and the youngest named Eren.

 

Prince Zeke was very intelligent, curious and often carefree. Meanwhile Prince Eren was strong-willed, passionate and very caring.

 

However, Zeke was not Carla’s biological son. That meant that he wasn’t the heir to the throne, leaving Eren as next in line unless something happened to him. They also often favorited Eren more than Zeke.

 

When Eren turned eighteen years old, his parents decided to assign a personal knight for him.

 

They found him a knight who was said to be the best of them all; a man named Levi Ackerman.

 

People often described him to be handsome, clean, blunt, skilled, and very strong, although he was said to be short in height.

 

Levi was honored to serve the Yeager family and agreed to give them his best service.

 

Little did they know that the knight they hired was not who they thought it was.

 

* * *

 

 

_**Once Upon a Time in a Kingdom Called Eldia...** _

 

Eldia was a slightly smaller kingdom than Paradis, but the scenery was truly more beautiful.

 

Although they have a rough history of causing many battles with neighboring kingdoms, the kingdom was slowly evolving into a better place.

 

It was ruled by a King, Queen and his daughter, a princess named Annie Leonhardt.

 

Annie was nineteen years old, with two personal knights named Reiner and Bertholdt. The three of them had been friends since they were little kids.

 

Annie didn’t grow up in the castle, but in a village with her birth mother. Reiner and Bertholdt both grew up in the same village and were the same age as her. When Annie’s mother mysteriously disappeared without a word a few years later, she was took to the castle, along with her two friends.

 

The two boys weren’t old enough to become knights but were trained until they were eighteen. Reiner could take his duty as a knight seriously and was very kind-hearted, which is what always made him like a big brother to Annie. Bertholdt became very devoted to making sure Annie was safe and treated her with the most respect that he could, trying his best to hide the fact that he’d had a crush on her ever since they were kids.

 

Her step-mother, the queen, desperately wanted her to hurry and marry a wealthy prince, for reasons she wouldn’t confess.

 

But Annie hated living as royalty. She missed living with her mother, the castle was too big and most of all she hated not being able to make her decisions for herself.

She was miserable living there.

  
Now all she did was hope that one day things would change.


	2. His Knight in Shining Armor

When Eren turned eighteen, his life changed.

 

He didn't know it yet, but he would soon.

 

On March 30th of the year, the kingdom had a celebration for the prince's birthday. They hosted a party in the castle where all the people could come. It wasn't very formal, which is how Eren requested it to be. He didn't want a fancy ball thrown for him.

 

When the party was almost over, Levi the knight arrived to become Prince Eren’s personal knight. He was already wearing his armor, almost his entire body covered in clothing. His face wasn’t visible.

 

Everyone watched in silence as the brave man kneeled in front of the prince and swore an oath, while Eren had a sword resting on Levi’s shoulder.

 

Once that was finished, everyone finished up the party and the castle was emptied of the guests. The maids were quick to begin cleaning up the place.

 

“You're taller than I expected…” Eren said towards Levi, catching the man off guard, “But you are quiet like I've heard.”

 

Levi just shrugged in response. Eren observed his appearance and was a little confused, since what he heard about Levi didn't seem to be the same, but he shrugged it off.

 

“I hope we can be good friends.” Eren said and smiled, “Would you like me to show you around the castle?”

 

Levi answered his offer with a simple nod.

 

Usually knights were more formal, but since Levi was said to be cold Eren guessed that's why he wasn't.

 

“Alright then, follow me.” Eren said and led the way around the large castle.

 

After showing Levi the amazing amount of rooms inside, he led Levi outside to show him around.

 

The outside of the castle was beautiful. There was part that led to the rest of the kingdom out front along with some decorations and out back there was several beautiful flower gardens, like most castles had. There was also a pasture for the horses along with a stable, and there was a open area for training.

 

“Here's where you can train, although with your experience I doubt you'd need to.” Eren informed as they came across the area.

 

After Eren was sure that they had went to every room, they walked down the hallway towards his room. He looked back at Levi, who was looking up at a painting on the wall, and thought to himself.

 

He’s _really_ quiet, more than he expected. It was strange.

 

“Dinner is usually served when the sun begins to set, so you can go do whatever until then...” Eren spoke up. Levi just turned his head over to look at him, and gave him a nod.

 

With that, Levi respectfully bowed a ‘thank you’ to Eren and went quietly to his room.

 

Eren just sighed and went to his room. The castle’s retainer, Hannes, came to his room to teach Eren some better manners as a prince, which Eren hated doing. He had to learn more manners every day since he was fifteen, and sometimes his “anger issues”, but luckily, this would be the last year he needed it.

 

After the castle was quiet for a while, it was time for dinner. Everyone met in the dining room and the food was served. Carla said the blessing and then everyone dug into their meal.

 

When everyone was finished, it was time that everyone was getting ready for bed. They all said their ‘goodnights’ and headed off to their rooms to sleep.

  
  
The next few days were like this, until finally one day Eren decided to leave the castle for a change and go to the nearest village in the kingdom, accompanied by his knight.


	3. Her Knights in Shining Armor

Every day was the same for Annie. 

 

She’d wake up, eat breakfast, learn new things about a lifestyle she didn’t want and go to sleep. There wasn’t really anything else to do. 

 

Her step-mother, the new queen, was strict with her. It seemed like she even bossed the king around sometimes. Something just wasn’t right about her and Annie knew it, but she didn’t say a word. She didn’t have evidence to back it up anyways. 

 

The queen also seemed to want to get rid of Annie, seeing her as a burden. She desperately wanted to find a prince for her to marry, so she’d leave the kingdom.

 

Annie wanted to desperately get away as much as the queen wanted her to, but not by marriage. Especially an arranged marriage.

 

The only two friends she really had were her two knights, Reiner and Bertholdt. And maybe her maid, Mina, who was very sweet and loved her job. They made living here a little less boring. 

  
  


Some days, like today, she would spend hours looking out on her balcony, wishing to leave, like in those cliche fairytales. 

 

After a few knocks on her door, a soft voice could be heard on the other side. “Princess Annie, there’s a celebration in Paradis kingdom for the youngest prince’s birthday, I’ve been ordered to get you dressed.”

 

Annie thought it was strange that they were going to Paradis, a kingdom that they had some rough history with. There were many wars between the two kingdoms in the past. 

 

She walked over and opened the door, allowing Mina to come in. After she was in, she shut the door behind her and helped Annie get dressed into a dress she had been given for her to wear. 

 

Annie sat down at her vanity and looked in the mirror at her reflection as Mina combed out her hair and fixed it. “You look beautiful, Princess.” Mina commented when she was finished. 

 

“Thank you.” Annie responded and sighed and stood up from the chair. The corset she had to wear feel less tight when she stood up luckily and she was able to breathe better. Her and Mina made their way down to the front doors and she was escorted by her two knights to the carriage she was given to ride in. 

 

At the celebration, the king and queen of both kingdoms talking with each other. Princess Annie just stood with her knights, having their own conversation. 

 

“Man, I was hoping Princess Krista would come.” Reiner sighed, looking at the crowd of people, “I heard that she looks like a goddess. I want to see her in person.”

 

“I don’t understand why we came here.” Annie said, glancing at the two princes of the kingdom.

 

“The people here have given us weird looks…” Bertholdt spoke up. 

 

Reiner shrugged, “Beats me.”

 

After a while, the famous knight Levi arrived. Everyone moved and made him a path so he could walk inside. 

 

“Woah, I’ve heard such amazing things about him.” Reiner quietly commented as Levi walked by them, “Some say he could kill a man by just glaring at them.”

 

Annie observed Levi’s appearance. “He sure is wearing a lot of armor.”

 

“Yeah, you can’t even see his face.” Reiner noted as they watched him kneel before the royal family. 

 

Low whispers in the room quickly turned into silence.

 

Once the knight was accepted, the celebration was over and everyone was leaving. Annie was once again escorted by her knights to the carriage to go back to the castle. The queen left the kingdom of Paradis with a smug grin.

  
  
The days after that went by quickly for some.


	4. Saved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren, Armin and Levi go to a nearby village to spend the day.

The weather was nice today. It was sunny and there were only a few clouds in the sky, and it was warm, which made it a perfect day to go out.

 

Eren decided to go to the nearest village. He invited Armin to tag along, and of course, his knight came too.

 

“So you want to go the the bookstore, right?” Eren asked his best friend who was walking on one side of him. Levi had been walking on the other side, making sure to be alert if anyone planned to attack the prince.

 

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” Armin answered and looked over at Eren, “I wanted to look at some books about the ocean and other amazing places there is to explore.”

 

“I don’t mind.” Eren replied and gave him a smile. The three walked down the stone-paved road, on their way to the bookstore.

 

There were several shops aligned on the sides of the road. When they found the one they were looking for, they entered the bookstore.

 

Eren wasn’t a fan of reading, but he didn’t mind going in since he was hanging out with Armin. While Armin checked out some books on the shelves, Eren looked at some books filled with pictures, and Levi quietly followed, not seeming to have any interest in the books either.

 

After a short while, Armin decided that he couldn’t find what he was looking for and they decided to leave and look at other shops.

 

“Mommy, look, it’s the prince!” A little girl’s voice could be heard as they walked back down the road.

 

Eren glanced over at the little girl and gave her and the mother a warm smile. A few other people noticed his presence and gave their most respectful greetings.

 

“Are you guys hungry?” Eren asked the two after people had seemed to stop coming over to greet him.

 

“Oh I could use some lunch.” Armin answered. The two looked over at Levi who was silent, looking at something else.

 

“I’ll just get some for all of us.” Eren decided as they come to a nice little stand where an old looking woman was selling freshly baked bread. Armin went and sat on a nearby bench while Eren got some food, but Levi followed, keeping a decent amount of distance from him.

 

“May I please get three rolls?” Eren asked the elderly woman kindly.

 

“W-Why of course, Your Highness!” she answered when she saw Eren’s face, recognizing who he was. She quickly got three rolls and placed them in a small basket, draping a cloth over them, “These are the freshest ones, it’s free for you!” she informed and handed him the basket.

 

“Oh no, here, I insist.” Eren said as he pulled out a small pouch of coins, paying her a little extra for them.

 

The woman smiled, exchanging the basket for the money, “T-Thank you!” she smiled, looking at at him.

 

“You’re welcome, have a nice day, miss.” Eren replied and made his way back over towards Armin.

 

The two sat down, Eren in the middle. He took the rolls out of the basket and handed Levi and Armin one. “Thank you.” Armin said and took the food from him. Levi nodded a ‘thank you’ and took the food, slightly turning his body in the other direction before he ate.

 

“No problem.” Eren replied to both of them and him and Armin made eye contact after Levi turned around. Then they both glanced at the knight as he raised the metal piece of his helmet up slightly to take a bite. Eren could barely see his lips as he ate, they were quite small and a pretty light shade of pink. The more he looked, the more they looked feminine to him.

 

“He’s _really_ quiet.” Armin whispered to Eren.

 

Eren nodded in agreement, quickly averting his gaze from the knight when he thought Levi had noticed him staring. The three of them ate their food, taking in the scenery around them.

  


When they were finished, they decided to head back to the castle.

 

“Today was a nice day.” Armin noted, looking up at the sun, which slowly make it’s way towards the horizon.

 

“Yeah.” Eren agreed and continued walking.

 

A few moments later, Eren felt someone place a hand on his shoulder and heard the sound of a sword being drawn from it’s holder. He looked over to see it was Levi.

 

“Something wrong..?” Eren asked, but before he could get an answer Levi had swiftly pushed him aside and moved in front of him, the sound of metal clanging as he did so.

 

“Whoa…” Armin said as he watched what happened, backing up from the area, only to have someone grab him from behind.

 

“What’s going on?!” Eren questioned, looking back at Levi with a puzzled expression.

 

Levi turned around and an arrow was now at his feet. He had shielded Eren from the arrow.

 

There were two bandits in front of the three. One was holding Armin hostage while the other was carrying a bow and arrow.

 

“Give us all the money you've got!” The man with the bow and arrow demanded, then aimed his arrow at Armin, “Or else the boy gets it!”

 

“Ugh, here, take it, just leave him alone.” Eren said as he threw his sack of coins towards the bandit.

 

The bandit took the money, but didn’t let go of Armin. Seeing this, Levi decided to draw his sword out from it’s holder and pressed the end against the man’s throat. The man quickly released Armin and ran off with the other bandit and the money. “T-Thanks…” Armin breathed.

 

“Yeah, thanks for saving me there.” Eren added. Levi put his sword back in it’s holder and nodded to the two boys. Through the small holes in the helmet and the sun’s light shining through them, Eren could just barely see gray eyes looking back at him.

 

The three of them quickly made their way back to the kingdom, without anymore trouble.


	5. Arrangement

A few days after the party, an announcement was made one day at dinner in the castle of Eldia.

“We spoke to that young prince’s parents and they agreed that an arranged marriage would be great.” Everyone’s eyes were on the queen as she spoke.

“What?” Annie asked, her eyes slightly widening. She knew the queen was talking about her.

“Mhmm,” the queen hummed happily, meeting Annie’s gaze for a brief moment before looking around the table at everyone else, “It’s been set for about a month from now.”

After the topic was discussed for a while, dinner was over and everyone was getting ready for bed.

“Princess Annie, here’s your towels and bed clothes.” Mina said as she laid two neatly folded towels and a nightgown on a chair that was next to the bathtub Annie was soaking in.

“Thanks.” Annie thanked her and Mina gave her a smile. She knew she didn't have to be so formal with Mina, they were close.

Once Mina was gone, she sunk a little lower in the bathtub and leaned her head against the rim, looking out her small window at the night sky. She let out a sigh as she thought about the arranged marriage situation.

Annie had never been one to worry about her love life, but she never thought about being married to someone she didn’t even know. Sure, he might’ve been pretty to her eyes, but she didn’t know what kind of person he was.

She eventually finished washing in the tub and got out. After drying off, she put on her clean set of clothes and headed out from the bathroom and into her bedroom. She sat at her vanity and brushed her hair. It was getting a little longer by the days and she dreaded it. She favored shorter hair, but of course, she wasn’t allowed to cut it.

When she was done with that she crawled in her bed and blew out the lantern that was on her nightstand. But she didn’t go to sleep. Instead, she stayed up for a while and thought about things until she finally tired herself out and fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

  
“This is stupid,” Reiner spoke up, “I know arranged marriage is normal for royal families but still, Annie shouldn’t be forced into one.”

“Yeah...” Bertholdt agreed.

They both were outside, sitting against the wall of the castle in the garden below Annie’s balcony, because they honestly got bored just standing around inside the castle and needed some fresh air. Their superiors often had to get onto them for not doing as they were ordered. They both had took off their armor as well.

Reiner sighed in annoyance, “I mean she’s like a little sister to me, I don’t want her having to deal with that. She already seems miserable enough.”

The situation was really bugging the two.

“I know you see her differently than I do, but I know you hate this.” Reiner added, glancing over at his best friend.

Bertholdt met his gaze but quickly averted his eyes and looked down at the ground, “Yeah…” he responded quietly.

The two were quiet for a while until Reiner noticed that Bertholdt seemed to be in deep thought, as if he had an idea. “What is it?” Reiner decided to ask.

“Do you think…” Bertholdt began and looked over at him, then looked back down, “Actually, nevermind, it’s a bad idea.”

“Well I haven’t even heard it yet so I can’t judge.” Reiner said, still looking at him.

Bertholdt sighed, thinking before he spoke. He gazed up at the moon and stars above them, feeling the cool breeze against his exposed skin.

“I was thinking that maybe we could run away.”


	6. Paranoid

“I wonder what she’s like…”

The news that he was arranged to marry the princess of Eldia had just gotten to Eren and he had hundreds of questions running through his mind. Today the other royal family was going to come to their castle and let the two get to know each other.

Was she happy she was getting married to him? Did she want to? Will she like him? Is she a good person?

“She was at your birthday party, remember?” Armin reminded him. They were sitting at a desk, looking through a book of pictures that Armin brought over to the castle. Levi wasn’t around for once.

“Yeah, I remember,” Eren answered, “I thought she was pretty, but she looked kind of distant…”

“I noticed that too.” Armin replied.

The two boys continued to look at the pictures in the book until the sound of a bell was heard, indicating that the other family arrived. Eren made his way downstairs to greet them and Levi was right by his side now.

After Carla, Grisha and Zeke greeted the other king and queen, Annie walked inside, accompanied by her two knights who stayed a foot behind her. Annie was wearing one of the nicest dresses she had and had her hair fixed up.

Eren noticed that Levi was gripping onto his sword that was in it’s holder. “What’re you doing?” Eren whispered to him, confused and a little irritated. That wasn’t a good way to greet anyone.

Levi noticed the tone in his voice and stopped, letting his hand fall to his side. The other two knights just gave each other a nervous glance, realizing that Levi was looking at them.

“So, you two lovebirds go chat, while we go discuss things.” the queen of Eldia told the two and gave Annie a slight push, “Same with you knights, go do something and give these two some privacy.” she added and then walked off.

“Uh, Levi, why don’t you take these two to the training grounds?” Grisha suggested before leaving as well. Levi just gave a nod and slowly led the other two knights outside, opposite of where Eren was leading Annie.

* * *

 

Eren and Annie sat outside on a bench that was in the garden. The sun was slowly beginning to set as the sky was turning a bright shade of orange mixed with pink. It was silent for a while before Eren decided to speak up.

“So uh… Is there anything you want to know about me?” He questioned and nervously scratched the back of his head.

Annie took her attention away from the scenery around them and glanced over at Eren, letting out a sigh, “I don’t want to do this.”

Eren’s eyes slightly widened, “Is there something wrong with me?”

“No,” Annie replied, pushing her bangs out of her face, “I don’t know you so I wouldn’t know, but either way I don’t want to be in an arranged marriage.”

“Oh…” Eren said, a little relieved, “I didn’t like the idea at first either, but I didn’t really have much of a say in it. I don’t want to force you into anything.”

“I didn’t have a say in it either,” Annie quietly replied, looking down at the ground, “I never do...”

Eren glanced at her, not knowing what to say, and she eventually met his gaze. They didn’t say anything for a while.

 

* * *

 

“He’s giving me a weird feeling.” Reiner whispered to Bertholdt as they followed Levi outside. Bertholdt just looked at him and nodded in agreement. Levi didn’t talk the whole time, but he was keeping an eye on the two, as if he didn’t trust them.

They decided to spar to pass time.

“I can’t believe we’re sparring with humanity’s strongest knight…” Reiner whispered to Bertholdt with a smile on his face.

They prepared themselves and all you could hear now was the sound of swords clanging together. Levi took on the other two easily, his reflexes nearly perfect. But, to the other two, there was still something off about him. And they were just about to discover why.

Reiner had managed to knock Levi off his balance and he toppled backwards, falling on his back. This caused Levi’s helmet to fall off from his head and roll a few inches away, revealing his face. Or rather her face.

The girl slowly opened her eyes to see their shocked expressions, and she realized that her helmet was missing. They didn’t say anything for a while, they just studied her face.

She had short, sleek black hair and her face looked similar to what Levi’s was described to look like. A pale face with small, pink lips and what looked like gray eyes.

“Who are you…?” Reiner finally spoke up, slowly putting his sword away and opening the part of his helmet that revealed his face. She hesitated to speak at first but decided she needed to.

 

  
“I’m Mikasa.”

 

 


	7. Identified

Bertholdt slowly lifted his helmet piece up to reveal his face as well and extended his hand out, offering to help Mikasa up. She took the offer and was lifted back up to her feet.

“Why are you…” Reiner began but he was cut off by the girl.  
  
“I have my reasons... Can you please just not tell anyone?” she asked. Reiner and Bertholdt exchanged glances before answering. Then they looked at Mikasa who was just silently staring back at them.

“Alright…” Reiner spoke up, “Your secret is safe with us.”

“Thank you.” Mikasa said, relieved to hear the answer that she had hoped for. She reached down for her helmet and picked it up, but didn't put it back on yet.

“How long do you think it'll be before Prince Eren finds out?” Reiner decided to ask, “You can’t just stay quiet forever.”

Mikasa glanced at him and thought about it for a second, “I don't know. Him and Armin were acting like they were suspicious the other day…”

“Him and who?” Reiner asked another question with a puzzled expression.

Mikasa sighed, “His friend.”

“Oh,” Reiner replied, “Are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know when I’ll find the courage to do it, but I will.” she answered.

The three were quiet for a little while until Bertholdt decided to ask a question. “When me and Reiner arrived here, you looked a little on edge, like you didn't trust us. Why was that?” he asked, then added, “If you don’t mind me asking…”

That was the most they'd heard him talk the whole time they were there.

Mikasa looked down towards the ground and had an expression on her face that neither of the boys could describe, “I just thought that history might have repeated itself…”

Reiner and Bertholdt both gave her confused looks and she let out another sigh, “It was nothing… I’m sorry.”

The two boys just shrugged it off and Mikasa placed her helmet back on her head.

After a while, it became night time and the people from Eldia decided it was time to leave. They all gave their respected farewells and left.

“So, what do you think about her?” Carla asked her son nicely.

Eren watched the princess get in her carriage from the window, “She’s an interesting person…” he answered.

“Well that’s nice.” Carla replied with a smile.

“But she isn’t interested in me,” Eren added, “Or anything to do with royalty.”

* * *

 

The carriage moved along the bumpy trail back to the castle. Annie and her two knights rode in one while the king and queen rode in another.

“So, how was prince charming?” Reiner spoke up, glancing down at Annie.

“Alright I guess.” Annie answered, looking at him, “You know I don’t want to do this.”

“Yeah, we thought so.” Reiner replied, glancing at Bertholdt who was just quietly listening to the conversation.

Annie sighed, “What about humanity’s strongest knight?”

“Oh, she-” Reiner quickly caught onto his mistake and corrected himself, “- _he_ was cool. He actually sparred with us.”

Annie gave a nod and didn’t seem to care about his mistake. Bertholdt gave a short sigh of relief. He didn’t want to give out Mikasa’s secret; he’d feel bad.

The rest of the ride back was quiet, besides the sound of the carriage moving. Annie seemed to have fallen asleep, unintentionally resting her head against Bertholdt who looked like he was having a heart attack from the closeness. Reiner just smiled at the scene.

Once they got there, Bertholdt managed to gently carry her to her bedroom without waking her up. She must’ve been really tired.

He carefully took off her shoes for her and draped the covers over her, making sure that she was more comfortable and she wouldn’t get cold.

“Goodnight Annie.” he whispered to her before quietly leaving the room.

 


	8. Oblivion

“Whoa…”

“He’s amazing!”

“Look at him!”

A lot of the castle’s servants was watching Levi train with some other men in awe. He was amazing. However, the real person on the inside of the knight’s armor was really starting to exhaust herself.

But she was doing it for a cause, so she didn’t stop.

After a while of it, Eren came out to watch as well after he had done some studying. He sat down on a bench, keeping his eyes on his knight.

When Levi noticed that he was there, he briefly stopped paying attention and his sword was knocked out of his hand. “Aw…” someone who was watching sighed at the knights defeat.

Since the session was over most people went back inside and started getting back to work.

Levi let out a sigh and leaned over to pick up his sword that he dropped and put it back in his holder. Eren made his way over towards the knight.

“I'm sorry, did I distract you?” he nervously asked. He had noticed that Levi caught his gaze earlier.

Levi held his hand up and shook his head in response. Eren let out a short sigh of relief.

They were quiet for a few moments before Eren decided to break the silence by asking a question that's been on his mind for a while. “If you don't mind me asking…” he started, “I've noticed that you never speak. I was just wondering why…”

The girl inside the armor swallowed, unsure of how to answer this question. _Should she tell him the truth? How would she explain this?_

While she was lost in thought, someone approached the two. “Lunch is ready, Your Royal Highness and Sir Levi.” the cook announced, then added, “Also, your friend Armin is here again.”

Eren gave the cook a nod and a smile before he left. He started walking back inside, glancing one last time at Levi who was quietly following close behind.

 

* * *

 

Later that day, after dinner, Zeke wanted to go horse riding with Eren like they used to years ago.

“Oh come on!” Zeke begged his younger brother, tugging at his sleeve.

“Last time we rode horses you purposely scared mine and it threw me off!” Eren replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Zeke briefly laughed at the memory, then pouted. “But that was years ago! Please?”

Eren sighed, giving in. “Fine.”

The older brother grinned and they both walked outside to the stables, Armin and Levi tagging along. The weather was nice outside and it was just now turning evening.

“Does your friend want to ride too?” Zeke asked, looking at the young blond boy that was walking beside Eren.

Eren glanced over at Armin, waiting for his answer. “Uh… I’ll pass. But thank you.” Armin nervously answered.

Armin and Levi sat on a bench that was outside the horse stables while Zeke and Eren saddled up, getting the horses ready to ride. Once they had it all done they led the horses out and straddled them.

“Are we going down the old trail?” Eren asked his older brother.

Zeke just shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

With that, both horses started walking and they rode along the trail Eren had mentioned. The two brothers hadn’t been down it in a long time, nor have they spent much time together in a while.

“Why’d you wanna ride so bad?” Eren decided to ask, glancing at Zeke.

Zeke let out a sigh, thinking about his answer. “I guess I just wanted to catch up.”

“Oh…” Eren replied, surprised by this answer. Usually him and his brother didn’t talk much at all. It seemed to him that Zeke didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

After a while they started talking about different things, like their family, funny things that happened, and things that interested them. They also brought up the topic about Levi.

“Does he ever talk?” Zeke questioned.

“No…” Eren answered. “Do you find that strange?”

“Well,” Zeke began, “I can understand not speaking at events and stuff but in private… it’s kind of strange. Maybe he’s just a quiet guy.”

“I’ve never seen him without his armor on either. It’s kind of suspicious.” Eren added. “And the other day, I got a tiny glimpse of his face through the holes in his helmet, but it didn’t match up a lot with what I’ve heard…”

Zeke hummed, seeming to be thinking of something. “Maybe you can try to get him to take off his helmet?”

“Maybe…” Eren replied and sighed. “I don’t know why I care so much. Whoever they are just seems so… mysterious.”

The two boys rode in silence for a while, the only sound that could be heard was the horse’s footsteps as they walked. Zeke noticed that the sky was growing darker so they decided to head back.

 

* * *

 

More days continued to end up like this, and his suspicion was growing more every day that he didn’t hear a word from the person in the armor. He even had forgotten about his arranged marriage situation for a while and had most of his attention focused on this situation instead.

He wondered if he was stupid for wondering this so often, but he started thinking more about it. Every knight that he’s seen before would speak to the ones they served and reveal their faces to them. And when he remembered this, he always had one question in his mind.

_So why wouldn’t his?_

The young prince wanted to know who his knight was. With each day that passed by, he began to doubt that it was Levi, but he didn’t say anything. He came to the conclusion that this person must be hiding their identity from him.

 

And he was going to find out.

 

 

 


	9. On The Run

“Are we really doing this…?”

During the night, Reiner and Bertholdt snuck off outside to discuss the idea of running away that was mentioned the other day.  They spoke in whispers so nobody would wake up and hear them. “Yes.” Reiner responded to Bertholdt’s question.

“So... what’s the plan?” Bertholdt asked another question.

“Alright, so…” Reiner began, thinking it over before he spoke, “After we tell her we’re running away, tomorrow night while everyone’s asleep We’ll throw a rock at her balcony so she knows we’re ready. She’ll use something to climb down from her balcony to meet us. Then you and her will head for Marley kingdom on a horse, following the stream of water that leads to one of its villages; where our home used to be.”

Bertholdt processed all of it, realizing something was off in the last part. “W-Wait, why just me and her? What are you gonna do?”

Reiner smiled at him. “I’m going to cover for you two for a while and then I’ll meet you there later.”

The two were quiet for a while, both seeming to be thinking it over. “Do you think this will work?” Bertholdt questioned.

“It’s worth a shot.” Reiner answered, looking up at the clouded night sky and then back down at him.

They both agreed to go with the plan and headed to bed, preparing themselves for tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

The next day went by slowly. The two boys were able to catch Annie after breakfast and speak with her alone,quietly informing her on their plan. She was surprised at first that they would do this for her and agreed to follow it. The thought of leaving even made her smile, which is something she rarely ever did.

After dinner, before nighttime came, Annie found a bag that went around your shoulder and packed it full of things she thought she’d need. She knew the boys probably had stuff like food and weapons, so she packed other things, like a few pair of clothes and some money just in case. Who knows, they might come across a place that they can buy, sell or trade things. When she finished with that, she put the bag underneath her bed to where nobody could see it if they walked in.

Mina brought Annie her bed clothes and towels for her bath. Annie soaked in her bathtub for the last time, making sure to wash up good. This would be her last (clean) bath for a while.

She got out and dried off, then changed into her bed time clothes. They seemed comfortable enough to travel in. It was just a simple nightgown that went down about to her knees. She looked in the mirror at her reflection, and realized that since nobody could tell her what to do after this, she could cut her hair the way she wanted. Taking a pair of scissors that was in her cabinet, she used it to cut her hair, leaving it just above her shoulders. She didn’t care if it was uneven, she thought it looked fine.

After disposing of the excess hair, Annie left her bathroom and sat on her bed, waiting for the sound of a rock hitting her balcony. As time passed, she decided to lie down and slowly began to drift off to sleep. But, before she fell completely asleep, she heard the sound.

 

**_Tap!_ **

 

Annie rose from her bed and grabbed the bag from under her bed, slinging it over her shoulder. She slid on a pair of comfy slip on shoes and headed for her balcony. Then a question struck her: _How was she going to get down?_

Her question was answered by the end of a rope that was throw up there. Down below her were the two boys. She grabbed the end of the rope and tied it to the railing, hoping that it would hold. She looked back one last time at her room, making sure she was ready and then started climbing down the rope, as quietly as she could.

Once she was down, she was greeted by the two boys with smiles on their faces. “I’ll get the rope later.” Reiner informed in a whisper. Annie just gave a nod.

“I’ll see you guys soon.” Reiner pulled both of them into a hug, squeezing them, “Be safe.”

He released them from the hug and smiled at them. Reiner watched them walk towards the horse stables, away from the castle. When they were out of his sight he made his way back inside without being caught.

Once Bertholdt and Annie got to the horse stables, he saddled up the one he knew best and led it out of the stable. When the horse was out, he helped her get on it since her height made it difficult for her to do by herself and then got on as well. She wrapped her arms around him and held onto him as the horse moved, the small gesture causing him to blush.

 

With that, they quietly began their journey.


	10. Discovered

The day was dark and gloomy as a storm passed. Heavy rain was falling quickly while thunder and lightning followed. It had been storming since morning and didn’t seem like it would be easing up anytime soon.

Word got to Paradis that Princess Annie of Eldia had went missing last night, along with her knight, Sir Bertholdt. A lot of people were concerned about this.

“I wonder what happened…” Eren pondered. Him and Armin were playing a game of chess. Levi was just silently watching the game.

“Maybe they were kidnapped?” Armin guessed while he moved one of his pieces after thoroughly thinking it over.

“Maybe.” Eren replied, studying the board. It was clear that Armin was going to win. He always did. “Ugh, I don't know why we even play this game anymore. You win every time.”

“Sorry…” Armin nervously apologized, “We could play a different game...?”

“Nah, I'm bored anyways.” Eren sighed. “Plus I don't know any other games we could play.”

Armin let out a sigh as well and helped him clean up the game, putting it back where it belonged afterwards. The two boys went up to Eren’s room, Levi following behind. Eren allowed Levi to do whatever he wanted, so Levi went to his bedroom.

Armin laid on Eren’s bed and read a book to pass the time while Eren sat in his chair, staring out the window as it stormed outside.

 

* * *

 

After the thunderstorm cleared up, which was before they ate dinner, Armin decided to leave.

“Goodbye, Your Majesties. Thank you for letting me stay here again.” Armin said towards the king and queen, bowing before them as he did so.

“Oh Armin, you know you’re welcome here anytime. You’re like family to us.” Carla replied and gave the boy a warm smile. Armin returned the smile and left, heading for his home while it was still light outside.

The servants set the dining room table and called everyone for dinner. The royal family joined at the table. After thanking the cooks and blessing their food, they ate their dinner.

Once everyone was done and started leaving to go get ready for bed, Carla bid both her son and Zeke goodnight.

Eren and Zeke walked up to their rooms, along with Levi who was following behind. All three of them had their room on the same floor, and they were the only rooms on the floor. The first door they came to was Zeke’s, then Eren’s, and Levi’s was on the end of the corridor.

They each went into their rooms and got ready for bed. They tried to sleep through the thunderstorm that had picked up again in a few minutes.

It was quiet for a while, until a scream was heard on their floor, loud enough to wake up Eren. It came from Levi’s bedroom.

Eren got out of his bed and quickly ran out of his room, making his way towards his knight’s door. He twisted the doorknob and rushed into his room. It was pitch black.

“Levi?!” Eren called as he made his way towards the bed, seeing that his knight was still asleep, laying on his side. He must’ve been having a nightmare. Eren pulled Levi onto his back and tried to wake him up. He felt a small hand grab him by the arm. “Eren!” A soft female voice called, relief filled in her tone.

Lightning flashed through the window and thunder roared above them. Eren was able to get a glimpse of his mystery knight when the lightning struck.

Eren looked down to see a girl lying there, gripping his arm and looking up at him with an equally shocked expression.


	11. Reincarnation

Eren roughly pulled his arm away from the girl’s grip and stood up from the bed.

“Who are you…?” Eren asked and watched as the girl slowly pushed her covers off and reached over to light a lantern. Once it was lit, the two could see each other better. He got a good look at her.

She had short black hair and her face looked very similar to Levi’s. From her facial features he could tell she was Asian. Around her chest was a binding and she was wearing her pajama bottoms.

“Answer me!” Eren demanded, staring her down.

She let out a small sigh and looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “My name is Mikasa.” she answered, “I am Levi’s younger relative.”

“Why have you been pretending to be him?” Eren asked another question.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Mikasa replied and looked down at the floor.

“Well, I might not with how you’ve basically been lying this whole time!” Eren said, still mad about the situation. “But, I want to hear your explanation.”

“Do you believe in reincarnation?” Mikasa asked him, meeting his gaze again.

Eren gave her a funny look. “Isn’t that where after you die you’re born again into a new life?”

Mikasa nodded in response. “I don’t know, why?” he replied.

“Well, I knew you in our past life.” Mikasa answered, “Me and you were close…”

“You're full of it.” Eren said, “I don't recognize you at all, wouldn't I remember you?”

Mikasa shrugged her shoulders. “Nobody else remembers our past lives besides me and Levi apparently.”

Thunder roared above them after lightning flashed once again. It wasn't raining as much anymore.

“Why should I believe you?” Eren asked, finding this unbelievable. He sat back down on the bed. “Tell me something about me then.”

“It might not be the same now, but…” Mikasa started, remembering the Eren she knew, “You liked thinking about the outside world, your ears would turn red when you were lying, Armin was your best friend, you always had a bad temper and would get into fights a lot, and you were always so determined to reach your goal…”

Eren sat there for a moment, realizing that most of this was still true about him. “And how did you and me meet in our ‘past life’?”

Mikasa looked down at the floor, remembering every detail about the day. “My mother and father were killed by human traffickers, and they were going to sell me. But, your father, who was a doctor, happened to come by and see what happened. He told you to stay away while he got help but you didn't listen and found me, killing the human traffickers. You saved me, and gave me a home.”

Eren noticed tears forming in her eyes after she finished explaining and was surprised by this. At first he thought this was all made up, but now he was starting to consider it.

“Hey… don't cry…” Eren nervously spoke up, hesitating to put a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her.

Mikasa looked up at him, meeting his gaze, and he dropped his hand. “Do you believe me?” she asked, blinking away her tears.

Eren let out a sign, having a change of heart after seeing her cry. “I'm not sure… but I'll consider it.”

Mikasa slightly smiled at his answer and Eren’s cheeks turned a bright shade of red. “Wait, so how did you know to come here to find me?”

“Levi got the letter and I happened to find it while he was out. After hearing that it was from you, I hid the letter from him and ran away in his place.” Mikasa answered.

Eren nodded, understanding. He was still trying to process all of this.

“Am I to remain being your knight?” Mikasa decided to ask. “I completely understand if you want me to leave.”

“Well, I still don't know if I believe the whole reincarnation thing yet, but, you did save my life the other day. You're really good at protecting me.” Eren replied, looking at her. “You don't have to leave.”

Mikasa smiled again, relieved that she would be able to stay here with him. “Thank you.”

“I'm sorry for being so rude earlier… you seem really nice.” Eren apologized and scratched the back of his head, “I was just mad because I’ve been so curious of who my knight really was, and I didn't expect it to be like this.”

“It's okay.” Mikasa assured him. “I'm sorry for hiding my identity this whole time. I was just scared that you'd hate me after finding out. All I really wanted was to see you again and know that I wasn't dreaming…”

Eren gave her a small nod, accepting her apology. “Man, this is a lot to think about…” he spoke up.

“What about the others?” Mikasa asked.

“I don't know what they would say…” Eren answered honestly. “I hope you don't mind keeping your identity a secret for a while longer…”

“That's okay with me.” Mikasa answered.

Eren gave her a relieved smile. Then he realized something. “Oh, I just remembered, I never asked you why you was screaming earlier. Were you having a nightmare?”

Mikasa gave a small nod in response. “I have them sometimes, they're usually about our-” she hesitantly corrected herself after remembering that he couldn't remember, “-my past life.”

“Oh…” Eren replied, unsure of what to say. “I'm sorry.”

“It's okay.” Mikasa assured, “I'm sorry I woke you.”

“Don't be…” Eren shook his head, “I'm glad you did.”

Mikasa smiled again. Eren was still one of the only people who could make her smile.

After a few moments of silence passed, Eren decided to stand up from the bed. “Well, it's still night, so we should both go back to sleep.”

Mikasa nodded, noticing the time. She quietly watched as he made his way towards the door, opening it more.

He turned around before leaving, getting one last look at his knight. “Goodnight… Mikasa.”

“Goodnight, Eren.” she replied. She loved how her name sounded in his voice. She always has. None of her feelings had really changed since then.

He left and shut the door behind him. Mikasa blew out her lantern and laid back down. She kept thinking until she finally exhausted her mind, finally falling back asleep. This time, she slept without having any nightmares.

Eren laid in his bed and thought about everything Mikasa had told him. He wasn't sure if he believed the reincarnation situation, but he wanted to. Maybe this girl was telling the truth. He just wished that he could remember if it was real or not.

One thing he was sure of though, was that he liked the way she spoke with him. Usually only Armin didn’t speak so formally to him, but neither did she. She spoke to him like a normal person.

And, he liked hearing her voice.

It was as if he'd heard it a million times before.

 

 

 


	12. Comfortable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie and Bertholdt take a break after the first night of their journey.

When dawn came, it began to storm. Lightning flickered above, followed by some thunder.

Bertholdt and Annie were both getting soaked from the rain, but neither complained. They were both quiet as they rode the horse on the path Reiner told them to, which was next to the stream of water and in the wilderness.

Not only were they getting soaked, but it was cold during the night and their legs were cramping due to not walked for a while. The horse was even walking slower than usual now, since there was two people on it instead of one, but now it was getting tired.

They waited until it seemed to be lunch time, when the sun was positioned in the middle of the sky, to take a break. The rain had finally stopped around then and the storm seemed to have passed.

Annie let go of Bertholdt and let him get off the horse, then he helped her get down as well. Both of them were relieved to be able to stretch out their cramped limbs. Bertholdt walked the horse over to the stream of water, letting it get a drink.

He turned to his side to see Annie squatting down, looking in the stream of water at some flowers that had fallen in. She reached out and picked one up, looking at it. He didn’t realize that he was staring until she caught his gaze and spoke up, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“What?”

“O-oh…” Bertholdt nervously stuttered, “Sorry… I just noticed you cut your hair short…”

Annie tucked some stray hair behind her ear. “Oh, yeah. Does it look bad?”

“No…” Bertholdt immediately shook his head. “It suits you. You look... pretty.”

“Oh…” Annie looked away from him and then down at her reflection in the water as she placed the flower back, “Thanks.” she replied and stood up from her spot.

“No problem.” he replied.

She silently made her way over towards him and the horse, her arms crossed over her chest. The horse just plopped down on the ground after taking a drink in attempt to rest.

Seeing this, Annie decided to sit down next to the stream, placing her feet in the cold rushing water. Bertholdt slowly sat himself down next to her, keeping a decent amount of distance between them.

They both sat there quietly and gazed their surroundings. The scenery was quite beautiful to look at. Birds and other common forest animals were singing as well. It was peaceful.

“So…” Annie spoke up, “I guess it's just me and you for a while.”

Bertholdt glanced over at her. “Yeah…” he responded, watching her play around in the water with her feet. He quickly averted his gaze when she looked over at him and looked out at the water. Reiner had told him that he stares a lot, so he tried to avoid looking at her for too long. It probably creeped her out, if she had even noticed.

“I’m sorry you’re stuck with me…” he quietly said, slowly wrapping his arms around his legs and laying his chin on his knees.

Annie just continued to look up at him, her feet still dangling in the water. “Why are you apologizing?”

He looked down towards the ground. “I don’t know… I… just thought you'd rather be with someone else…”

She didn't say anything and turned her head, looking back in front of her at the water. After a short moment, she spoke up.

“I didn't care who I went with...” she started, then let out a sigh and continued,  “But, I’m glad it was you. I don't have to force a conversation and I can be myself. I feel at ease with you.”

Bertholdt lifted his head up and looked at her, his eyes slightly wide. That was the most she'd ever said to him, and it relieved him. He couldn't help but smile at her words, a slight pink blush dusting his cheeks.

Annie glanced over and noticed this, a slight smile making it's way onto her lips as well. It was small, but it was still there.

The two of them were silent for a few moments before Annie’s stomach growled . “Are you hungry?” he asked, meeting her gaze.

“Yeah...” she answered, “What all did you and Reiner pack?”

They both stood up from their spots and Bertholdt led her to the basket attached to the horse’s saddle. He unattached it and opened it, letting her have a look Inside there were two apples and two pears, some grapes, a few carrots and potatoes, some bread wrapped up, cheese, crackers, some stew in a container, a canteen full of wine and a canteen full of fresh clean water.

“You two went all out.” Annie commented and reached in the basket to grab an apple.

“Yeah, we had to be very sneaky to steal all of this from the kitchen.” Bertholdt replied, remembering the moment. “We’ve got to be careful on food,  because this is all we have…”

Annie gave him a nod in response as she bit into the apple, eating it slowly. Bertholdt grabbed a pear, doing the same. They both sat down next to the sleeping horse as they ate.

She eyed the lantern and other bag attached to the saddle. “What else did you bring?” she decided to ask between bites.

“Reiner packed it.” Bertholdt  informed and then held the pear with his teeth and reached over, carefully dumping the bag out. Inside an extra pair of clothes inside. It also had a knife with a cloth cover over it, some flint and steel, a compass, a handmade map, and a folded letter that Reiner wrote them. Then he emptied out his pants pockets. All he had in them was a pocket knife. “What about you?” he asked after taking the pear from his mouth and putting everything back.

Annie took the messenger bag off her shoulder and dumped it out. All she had in hers was a few pair of spare clothes, a comb and some money as well. She put hers back in her bag when he got a good look.

Once they both finished their fruit, they got ready to leave on horseback again.

They both made sure they had everything. When they were ready, they woke up the horse and saddled her back up. Bertholdt helped Annie get on again and then got on himself. She held onto him again so she wouldn’t fall off.

 

With that, they were on their way again.


	13. Close

As the days passed, Eren began to become more comfortable around Mikasa.

He enjoyed her company. She would listen to him rambling on about the little things and he liked that about her. He also listened to her stories about their ‘past life’ and genuinely enjoyed hearing about it. He found their story interesting, but, she would never tell him how it ended when he asked about it. It kind of bothered him but he didn’t pry too much.

Eventually, they decided to tell Armin about her. He listened to her explanation and believed it more than Eren did at first. Armin was always fascinated by things like this.

 

Today was a lovely, sunny day and it was decided that the royal family have a portrait painted for them. The young artist was very talented but wasn’t getting paid near enough what his art was truly worth, which is why the Jaeger family wanted to help him.

“Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity, Your Majesty.”

Carla smiled at the young man’s manners. “You’re very welcome, Moblit.”

“Hey, how about we include sir Levi in this painting?” Grisha suggested, looking over at the knight. “We haven’t seen his face before, this would be a nice time to let him feel more comfortable here.”

Everyone’s eyes were now on Levi. The knight glanced at Eren and he knew Mikasa had a worried expression under the helmet. “U-uh.. he can’t because… uh… he doesn’t feel good.”

“Oh… well that’s okay.” Carla spoke up, giving her son a strange look before turning to Levi with a warm smile. “Well I do hope you feel better soon…”

“Yep… I’ll just… walk him to his room.” Eren said and quickly walked with Levi towards the stairs.

“Thank you.” Mikasa spoke up once they were a decent distance away.

“Sorry for hiding you like this.” Eren said as they began climbing the stairs together.

“It’s okay.” Mikasa answered, glancing over at him through the helmet. He was dressed nicer than usual for the painting. He was wearing a suit that matched the colors of their kingdoms color scheme, which was blue and white, and his hair was neatly combed back.

Eren felt her gaze on him and assumed she was gawking at his outfit. “What? Do I look stupid?”

“No…” she replied quickly, “You look very handsome.”

He felt his face heat up at her compliment. “Oh, well thanks.”

He couldn’t see it, but she was smiling.

 

* * *

 

 

“So Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt were traitors?”

It was now night time. Eren and Mikasa were lying on her bed in their pajamas, while she continued telling part of the story of their past life.

“Well, they were misunderstood, but we were fighting against them. They were still our enemies.” Mikasa answered his question after thinking about it for a moment.

“They seemed good when we met that one day.” Eren commented as he remembered meeting Annie and her knights the other day.

“They’re good people. I was watching them closely when they arrived because of my memories. But like I said, they don’t remember their past life. It’s just a coincidence they’re together again.”

“I guess fate doesn’t change.” He said and sighed.

“No…” Mikasa replied, shaking her head as she sat up from the bed. “It has to and it will, I’ll make sure of it.”

“What do you mean?” Eren glanced over at her and sat up as well. “You never tell me what happens in the end.”

Mikasa day on the edge of the bed, holding her head with her hands, gripping at her hair. “I don’t like to think about it.”

Eren saw her pained expression and hesitantly teacher a hand over and placed in on her shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me, I’m sorry.”

She turned around and smiled once she met his gaze, tears in her eyes. “No, it’s okay.”

They were quiet for a few minutes before Eren spoke up again. “It just feels weird not knowing about you when you know basically everything about me...”

“So you do believe me, right?” Mikasa asked.

Eren gave her a nod in response, placing his hands in his lap. “Yeah. I don’t know what it is, but I have this feeling. Like we’re close, even though we only just met face to face a few days ago. I feel like I’ve known you a lifetime.”

Mikasa was relieved to hear those words. “Maybe some day you’ll remember everything.”

“Maybe.” Eren said and yawned, letting himself fall back down on the bed again. He was really comfortable in her bed and didn’t want to leave.

“Tired?” Mikasa asked, trying to contain her giggles. She found his yawn utterly adorable.

“Just a little…” Eren mumbled, rubbing his tired eyes. “I guess I should go to bed.”  

They both bid each other goodnight and Eren went back to his bedroom, leaving Mikasa alone with her thoughts.

Eren just plopped down on his bed, unable to fall asleep. For the past few days she was all that was on his mind. He wanted to get to know her more. He wasn’t even sure if he completely believed all the stories she told about them, they sounded a bit unrealistic. But he really wanted to.

Mikasa was unable to sleep as well. Her nights often ended like this; her thoughts never ending until she eventually exhausted herself. All she could do was vow to herself that their fate wasn’t going to end like it did before.

 

After a while, both of them fell into a peaceful slumber.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry my writing is sloppy. I've had writer's block and been very unfocused lately.


	14. Felicity

The next few days were similar for Annie and Bertholdt. The weather was usually the same; warm and sunny. It rarely rained anymore. They would pass by lots of beautiful scenery and sometimes found a nice place to camp at for breaks. Their food supply was doing good so far, the food hadn’t gone bad yet and there was still enough to last them a while, if they made it last that is. They used the stream to wash up. It wasn’t as good as a bath, but it was all they had. They also changed clothes frequently.

Today was a new day. It was early and the bright morning sun had woke Annie up. Her and Bertholdt had laid down some spare clothes they had on the ground as a makeshift pillow and slept in a small open area for the night.

Annie glanced over and realized Bertholdt was still peacefully asleep and decided not to wake him. She let out a sigh and walked over towards their stuff, getting something for her to eat for breakfast. A pear was good enough for her and then she grabbed a carrot to give to the horse, which was already awake. After the horse finished the carrot she untied it’s reins from the tree and led it to the stream of water to get a drink.

Soon after that, Bertholdt woke up. “Good morning sunshine.” Annie said in a teasing voice as she led the horse back to the tree and tied the reins around it again. She turned around and couldn’t contain her giggle-snort when she turned around and saw Bertholdt sitting there. His hair was all messed up and he had dried up drool on the corner of his mouth.

“W-what?” Bertholdt stuttered, surprised. He can’t remember ever hearing Annie laugh, especially snort, since they were kids.

“You must’ve slept good.” was all she said before she grabbed a comb from her bag and used it to untangle her hair. She tossed it to him when she was done, a smirk on her face.

He wiped the drool from his face with his shirt and caught the comb, his face a little red from embarrassment. After he was done he got up and stretched his limbs, walking over to return the comb to her.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked her as he handed her the comb. She answered him with a nod and took the comb. They both collected their things and got ready to go. When they had everything, they got the horse ready and mounted it like they had been doing the past few days. The horse went forward and took them the way Bertholdt knew to go.

They had soon got away from the forest and was in a more open space for now. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue and there wasn’t a cloud visible in the sky. Annie loved the feeling of the sun's warm rays on her skin. She hadn’t felt it much when she was at the castle.

Annie may not show it but was enjoying this journey so far. They were away from everyone and there were no rules out here. Now they could do whatever they wanted.

They were free.

 

* * *

 

After a while of riding, the sun was just about to set on the horizon.

“I think this is an okay spot for us to stop at?” Bertholdt spoke up for the first time in a while, wanting to know if she agreed before he stopped the horse. The area was open but had a few trees. They wouldn’t come to another forest for a while it seemed.

“Seems fine to me.” Annie replied.

With that, the horse came to a stop and Annie released her grip from Bertholdt, then carefully got down from the horse. He got off after her and led the horse to the stream of water to get a drink. After it got a drink he tied its reins to the nearest tree and took the saddle off of it.

Annie took off her shoes and stepped into the stream. She slightly shivered at how cold it was but stayed anyways, standing in it.

The horse laid down to rest and Bertholdt brought a carrot from their basket over for it. After the horse ate the carrot it seemed to immediately go to sleep. He sat down in the grass next to it as he ran his hands over it’s mane.

Out of curiosity, he looked over his shoulder to see what Annie was doing. To his surprise, he caught her gaze.

“Do you know how to cook?” Annie asked.

“Kind of.” Bertholdt responded, “Why?”

“I was thinking that we could have fish for dinner.” she answered and looked down at the water in thought. “I catch, you cook.”

“Okay.” he said and slowly stood up from his spot. “I think I know how to cook fish.”

Annie got out of the water and quickly found a tree limb to use. “Toss me your pocket knife.”

He reached into his pocket and got his pocket knife, tossing it to her. She used it to sharpen the end of the stick. “This should work.” she said to herself and went back to the stream, standing in the water again to watch the fish, waiting for the right moment to strike. Meanwhile Bertholdt started a fire and gathered some wood to fuel it.

It didn’t take long for Annie to catch one she was satisfied with. “I don’t know anything about cooking,” she said as she showed the fish to Bertholdt, “Does this one look good?”

“It looks okay to me.” he answered after getting a good look at it.

With that, Bertholdt tried his best to cook it properly. When it was done, they sat next to the fire and halved the meat, while also sharing their canteen of wine since they wanted to save the water. It was a little burnt but other than that it was alright. “Good job.” Annie praised him.

Bertholdt looked at her and couldn’t help but smile at the compliment, a blush searing through his cheeks. “You too.”

 

* * *

 

The sun had completely set and the sky had grown darker. The only sounds that could be heard was the sound of the stream water rushing and the sound of crickets chirping.

Bertholdt and Annie found a spot and made their makeshift pillows to lay their heads on. They both laid down on their backs, gazing up at the night sky. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, so everything was visible. The moon was in a perfect crescent shape and the stars twinkled, endlessly scattered across the sky.

It was silent between the two until Annie spoke up, in a sleepy tone. “The sky is so pretty. I’ve never really paid attention to it until we ran away.”

“Yeah,” Bertholdt agreed and turned his head to look at her, studying her face under the moonlight, “It is.”

“You know,” Annie started and turned her head to look at him, her ice blue eyes meeting his forest green ones, “I’m in no rush to get there. I’m happy being out like this.”

“Oh…” was all Bertholdt said. He hadn’t expected her to say that.

“Are you?” she asked, still looking at him.

Bertholdt gave her a small nod in response, smiling. “Yeah.”

Annie smiled, which made his heart flutter. It was such a rare sight.

They both gazed up at the beautiful night sky above them. Annie had fallen asleep quickly after that. Bertholdt looked at her sleeping face and sighed, thinking about her last question before he fell asleep.

It didn’t matter where they were. He was happy as long as he was with her.


	15. Unrequited Love

Eren and his knight strolled through a nearby village on a nice sunny day, taking in the small things they never usually noticed. Like how happy children were as they played with their friends and how lively the people in town were. Nature was also as lovely as it always is.

“Hey, there’s Moblit.” Eren spoke up, his eye catching a certain young man who was sitting on a bench, drawing.

“Who?” Mikasa asked quietly from under her armor, following the direction his gaze.

“The man who painted our portrait a few days ago.” Eren answered. “He seemed really nice. He’s a great artist but he’s not really recognized enough for it.”

The two of them walked over to greet him. Moblit noticed them getting closer and quickly put his sketchbook away. “Oh, h-hello Your Majesty,” he nervously stuttered, and turned to the night, “Sir Levi.”

“You don't have to be so formal with me.” Eren greeted him and let out a short laugh, then glanced at the sketchbook in Moblit’s hand curiously, “What’re you drawing?”

Moblit nervously glanced down at his sketchbook, his face growing a bright shade of red. On the page was a sloppy yet beautiful sketch of a woman, who looked to be around his age or older, with glasses and a head full of hair that was pulled back into a ponytail.

Mikasa instantly realized who this woman was as soon as she laid her eyes on the picture. “Who is this lady?” Eren decided to ask.

Moblit let out a sigh. “I’ve only seen her once. She was so beautiful and full of life, I couldn’t get her out of my mind.”

Moblit pulled out a few more pages to show the two. Each drawing was of the same woman but in a different style or pose.

“You must really like her...” Eren commented, looking at the beautiful drawings.

Moblit scratched the back of his head. “Y-yeah, but she’d never look my way.”

“Why not?” Eren asked, looking at him. “From what I’ve seen, you’re a great guy.”

“I’m just some poor, lovestruck loner who draws.” Moblit sighed, shifting his gaze to look down at his feet. “I’ll probably never see her again anyways.”

Eren and his knight exchanged glances before liking back at the sad man. “I’m sure you’ll see her one day.” Eren reassured him.

“Thank you.” Moblit smiled at him.

A few moments of silence passed until the sound of bells interrupted it. “Oh, I’ve got to get home. Thank you for the compliments.” Moblit said as he stood up from his seat and bowed before the young prince and his knight.

“You’re welcome.” Eren replied and gave him a smile.

With that, Moblit rushed to grab his things and was off. Eren and his knight just watched until he was out of sight.

“We should try to get them together.” Eren suggested.

“I know who that woman is.” Mikasa spoke up, her feminine voice echoing inside the helmet. Nobody was around them now so she felt that it was fine if she spoke.

“You do?” Eren asked, looking at her as he sat down on the bench. His legs were slightly beginning to ache from walking so much. He patted the spot next to him, motioning for her to sit next to him.

Mikasa sat down next to him and answered his question. “Yes, from our past life. Her name was Hange.”

“Oh.” Eren replied, glancing over at her, “Did they know each other?”

Mikasa nodded. “He was part of her squad and her assistant. They had a close relationship I think. In the end, he…”

“What?” Eren asked, realizing she trailed off.

Mikasa shook her head, “Nevermind.”

Eren just shrugged it off, hoping she might tell him another time. She always did end up telling him dark details of their past life later.

The two of them silently walked side by side back to the castle. They weren’t in a rush, so they took their time.

“Have you ever climbed a tree?”

Eren’s random question made Mikasa curious to know what he was thinking about. “No.” she replied.

“Hmm… me either.” he responded and made his way over towards a tree they came across.

“What are you doing?” Mikasa asked, even though it was obvious.

Eren grabbed a strong looking branch and used it to pull himself up, so he could start climbing it. Mikasa just looked up at him and watched as he made it further up the tree, staying directly under him in case he fell.

“Come on up!” Eren said as he made it halfway up the tree, looking down at Mikasa.

“Are you sure it’s safe…?” she asked and looked around her. They were alone in this area, since most people were eating dinner or at church during this time of day.

“Yeah!” Eren answered and waited on a branch for her to get up there.

Mikasa let out a sigh and took off her heavy armor, revealing not only her head but a noticeable binder around her chest, a tank top, and pants. It was quite warm outside so she wasn’t cold.

She started climbing up where he did and quickly made it to the branch under him. It didn’t take her long.

“Here.” Eren said and carefully held onto the trunk of the tree and offered her a hand, but unfortunately lost his balance. “Oh shoot!” he yelled as he fell forwards on top of Mikasa, causing both of them to fall down to the ground.

“Oof!” Mikasa let out once she was flat on her back, the wind being knocked out of her.

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Eren immediately asked and used his arms to raise himself off from her to make sure she wasn’t hurt. His eyes darted to every place on her check for injuries.

Mikasa looked up at him and nodded, feeling her heart flutter. She only had a few scratches and possibly a bruise from the fall since it wasn’t that far. It made her happy that he cared so much.

“Phew.” Eren let out a sigh of relief. When he made eye contact with her he blushed and looked away, realizing how close they were. “S-sorry.” he stuttered and moved over.

“It’s okay.” Mikasa reassured him and sat up, smiling, a slight giggle escaping from her lips.

They were silently looking at each other for a few moments before the sound of church bells broke the silence.

“I guess we should get going now.” Eren suggested, standing up from his spot. Mikasa just gave a nod and stood up as well, walking to grab the armor to quickly put on.

With that, they made it back to the castle as the sun set on the horizon and the moon followed by stars came out.

 

 

 


	16. Recognized

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bertholdt and Annie make two new friends.

As the days went on, Annie and Bertholdt were running out of food quickly. They didn’t have any idea how long it would take them to get to their destination, so they were beginning to worry.

“Our other clothes are dry.” Annie informed, stretching her short arms out towards a high tree branch where the clothes were draping over.

Bertholdt held in his laugh as he asked, “Need help…?”

She sighed in defeat, “Yes, please.”

He got up from his spot and made his way over towards her, and got down so she could climb on his shoulders. Once she was on he carefully held her legs and stood up.

“Got them.” Annie announced after grabbing the clothes. When he let her back down, she said, “Thanks.”

“It’s no problem.” Bertholdt responded and scratched the back of his head.

They both turned around to give each other privacy and changed into clean clothes. Annie’s old gown and Bertholdt’s shirt and pants had some rips in it. Their clothes were worn out now but neither one of them cared.

They washed up as best as they could in the water from the stream like they’ve been doing the past few days.

Annie combed out her wet hair and felt her stomach grumble. “Hey, let me fix your sleeve.” she spoke up, noticing how his long sleeve was about to completely fall off. She reached in her bag and easily found a needle and thread in one of the pockets.

Bertholdt glanced down at where her gaze was. “O-oh, you don’t have to-“

Before he could say anymore, she was already forcing him to sit down so she could reach his shoulder. They were both silent as she slowly sewed up his sleeve.

When she was finished, he slightly turned around to look at her and watched as she put it back in her bag. “Thank you.” he spoke up.

“You’re welcome.” she replied and closed the bag, then met his gaze.

“Where did you learn how to sew?” he asked and nervously averted his gaze.

“My mother taught me when I was little.” she answered, “But I never had the chance to use that skill.”

“Oh.” he replied, unsure of what to say.

After a few moments Annie stood up and stretched out her limbs. Bertholdt got up as well. “Should we start-”

His sentence was cut off by an arrow being shot into a tree that barely missed their horse. It had skimmed it’s shoulder. This scared the horse, causing it to freak out and break the rope which kept it tied to the tree and quickly ran off.

“No, come back!” Bertholdt yelled at the horse which was too far to chase now.

“Great.” Annie groaned, then started scanning the area for other people. “Who the hell is shooting arrows at us?”

Bertholdt swiftly grabbed his knife and pulled the cover off from it, just in case he needed to use it.

“I don’t see anyone.” Annie said quietly,exchanging a glance with Bertholdt. They both just stood with their backs turned towards each other, watching the area carefully.

After a few moments of silence passed, two people jumped from the trees and in front of Annie and Bertholdt, causing them to be scared and press their backs together. Bertholdt gripped the knife in his hand tighter.

The unknown attackers were wearing mostly brown leather outfits and masks, with a bow on their back and arrows in the holders on their side.

“Wait a minute…” the one in front of Bertholdt spoke up. Bertholdt just nervously raised an eyebrow in confusion as they inched closer to his face. “This is the missing knight from the kingdom of Eldia!”

“And this is the princess!” the one in front of Annie confirmed, studying her face from under the mask.

They both stepped away and took off their masks, revealing their faces. One was a young woman with brown eyes and reddish brown hair pulled into a ponytail and the other was a young man with brown eyes and a shaved head.

“We are terribly sorry for attacking you and scaring away your horse, we thought you were bad guys. This area is full of bad people.” the girl apologized and looked down at the ground.

Annie and Bertholdt were both silent, not sure what to say to them. The sound of Annie’s stomach grumbling broke the silence.

This gave the woman an idea. “Hey, we can repay you two with food and a place to stay! How does that sound?”

Annie and Bertholdt exchanged glances. They were both hungry. She just gave a small nod, knowing he was waiting for her answer.

“Great! My name is Sasha,” she introduced herself, then motioned towards her friend, “and this is my friend Connie.”

Sasha and Connie waited for them to gather their stuff and led them towards Sasha’s cabin. It wasn’t too far away. They had to cross the steam to get there.

 

* * *

 

“Here we are. Make yourselves at home.” Sasha said once they got to the porch of the cabin and opened the door. It was small but cozy.

Connie had said his goodbyes and went to his house, which was next door. There were a few houses scattered out in the area.

“Who are these people?” An older man asked from the kitchen. He seemed to be cooking dinner.

“Father, this is the missing knight and princess. Me and Connie mistook them as thieves. So we’re repaying them with a place to stay and food.” Sasha answered his question.

“Oh, alright.” Her father said, not asking anymore questions.

Sasha showed them the bathroom and where they could sleep, which was in a small spare bedroom. “Supper should be ready shortly, I’ll come get you when it is.” Sasha informed the two, who just nodded in understanding. With that she left the two of them to get comfy.

“I’m starving.” Annie sighed, getting impatient for the food to be ready. She plopped herself down on the bed and glanced over at Bertholdt who nodded in agreement.

 

* * *

 

Sasha came to get them for dinner and they sat at the table with her and her father. He had made some vegetable stew and rolls. Annie and Bertholdt happily ate their food and went back for seconds, unable to control their hunger.

“You two must’ve been really hungry…” Sasha commented. “Why did you run away from the kingdom?”

After Annie swallowed her food and had a drink of water she spoke up for the first time to Sasha. “I didn’t like it there.” was all she said.

“Was it boring?” Sasha asked with a mouth full of bread. Annie nodded in response to her question.

Annie and Bertholdt got more comfortable and had a conversation with Sasha as they ate dinner. Sasha was a really friendly person.

When everyone was finished, they put their dishes up. It was getting close to bedtime so Sasha let them take baths first. After getting the hot water for the bath, Annie took one first. Bertholdt insisted on letting Sasha take one before him and then he took one. It had been a while since Bertholdt and Annie properly bathed.

When he got back to the spare bedroom Annie was already asleep on the bed. She didn’t seem to have meant to fall asleep seeing that she was in a sitting up position. He draped the bed covers over her and then laid on the floor on a blanket he found. He didn’t mind it.

 

* * *

 

Annie woke up in the middle of the night when she realized she had fallen asleep. The room was dark, with the only source of light being the moonlight shining through the window. It was also colder in the cabin at night.

She stretched out her cramped limbs and spotted Bertholdt sleeping in a weird position in the floor.

“Hey!”  she whisper-yelled, trying to wake him up. When that failed she let out a sigh and threw her pillow at him. That worked.

“Huh?” he loudly groaned as he sat up from the floor and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“You look uncomfortable down there.” she mumbled and yawned, “Get up here.”

Her suggestion made him blush. “A-are you sure?” he swallowed.

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t.” she responded with a barely visible vague expression. “So come on.”

He quietly rushed to his feet and crawled in under the covers next to her once she scooted over to give him room. It was a double bed so there was enough space for both of them. Even though he was on the floor, Bertholdt was incredibly warm compared to Annie who was freezing

After noticing this she swiftly scooted closer and put her hands under his shirt, resting them on his chest, warming up her hands. “Eek!” he yelped.

“Sorry.” she apologized, but she wasn’t sorry.

“Your hands are freezing!” he whispered, shivering at the feeling. He felt his heart beating in his chest and was scared that she could feel it too.

“And you’re warm. It works perfectly.” she replied. Bertholdt couldn’t help but smile at the response.

It didn’t take long for her to fall back asleep after getting warm. He relaxed more at the sound of her even breathing and seeing her peaceful sleeping form. She looked beautiful in the pale moonlight that was shining through the window.

Bertholdt gently laid his head down on the pillow and closed his tired eyes, eventually falling asleep as well.

 


	17. Missing Part

After a few days spent searching, Mikasa and Eren found the woman their friend Moblit was in love with.

They snuck around, in disguise, secretly following her so they could get some information about her. Their disguises were just hats that covered their eyes and long coats. So far they had followed her to town, which was in Shiganshina, inside a store, and now they were following her home it seemed. They had heard a lot of talk about her while she was out, which is how they gathered some of their information.

Mikasa was right, her name was Hange Zöe. She was a spitting image of the sketches Moblit had drawn of her. She was a scientist, and a very intelligent one it seemed. She also had a bubbly personality.

As the were trailing a few feet behind her, they noticed she stopped in her tracks, feeling suspicious. Eren panicked and grabbed Mikasa by the arm, swiftly pulling her with him to hide between two buildings.

They were both silent, waiting for the sound of footsteps to be heard again. But the only sound that could be heard at the moment was their uneven breathing.

Eren’s face turned red once he realized how close their faces were. They were the same height so they were even with each other. Mikasa was in a disguise but he could still easily make out the features of her face and feel her breathing, as well as her gaze which was fixed on him.

“S-sorry…” Eren whispered, trying to give her more space. It was a small space they were hiding in.

“It’s okay.” Mikasa assured him in a low voice.

After a few moments passed, they heard the sound of footsteps growing distant. They both exited their hiding spot and began to follow her again, this time more quietly.

They eventually got to a neighborhood and watched her go inside one of the houses. “That must be where she lives.” Eren noted.

“I can remember which one.” Mikasa informed, “I have good memory.”  

Eren gave a nod. They two of them began to walk back to the castle, which might take a while since they were in the other side of the town. They were both quiet for a while as Eren was brainstorming ideas on how to put these two adults together.

“Hey, there’s a ball coming up.” Eren spoke up, “I could invite both of them to it.”

“That’s a good idea.” Mikasa replied, “But would they both come?”

“I’m not sure.” Eren said after thinking about it for a moment. “But we could at least try to convince them.”

Mikasa gave him a nod in response. They walked quietly for a while until Eren spoke up again.

“Well… we still have half of a day left.” Eren said, looking up at the sun which was in the middle of the sky. “We don’t have to go home just yet.”

“Okay.” Mikasa said, “What do you want to do?”

After deciding, they walked to the outskirts of the town and settled down in the grass. It was on open area next to the river.

Eren lay down in the grass and places his arms behind him, resting the back of his head on his hand. Mikasa found a spot next to him and sat down, les stretched out forward with her hands behind her to prop her up.

“Can you tell me another story about our past?” Eren asked, looking over at her.

“Sure,” Mikasa answered, “Just let me think of a good one.”

“Okay.” Eren replied and patiently waited for her to find one. Once she thought of one, she began telling it.

“You saved me a lot. When we first met, I was kidnapped by human traffickers who killed my parents and you found me. Me and you teamed up on the bad guys and killed them. Your family took me into your home. But it wasn’t long after that when the wall was broke and the titans got to us.”

“I remember you telling me how we met, but not the titan part.” Eren said, still looking over at her. He noticed she placed her hand right below her neck. “I really sound like I was a hero back then.”

“You saved many people throughout your life.” Mikasa replied, looking down at him, remembering everything.

“When were the other times I saved you?” Eren questioned.

“Well, the time after that was when I thought you had been eaten. I had given up on fighting the titans and was cornered by one, about to be eaten, but suddenly a titan had came to my rescue. That titan turned out to be you.” Mikasa answered.

“I still think the idea of me being able to turn into a giant naked cannibal that eats people is insane.” Eren commented, slowly closing his eyes.

Mikasa quietly giggled, “Me too.”

“Is that all?” Eren asked.

“No, there was another time.” Mikasa started and brushed a few stray hairs off her face while looking up at the clouds. “You and I were trapped, and had to face the titan that ate your mother. I was injured and you were unable to transform. You kept calling yourself useless, but I disagreed. I kept telling you thank you for showing me how to live, and wrapping that scarf around me, and you stood up and promised to stay by my side for the rest of our life. You defended us with your powers and carried me on your back to safety.”

After telling the story, Mikasa glanced over to see Eren’s eyes closed, a slight smile on his lips and his chest steadily rising and falling. He had fallen asleep.

Mikasa just smiled to herself.

 

* * *

 

When Eren woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he was being carried bridal style. Looking up at who it was, it was Mikasa back in her knight attire. He assumed she must’ve changed while he was asleep.

“Y-you can put me down, I’m awake.” Eren stuttered, embarrassed by the position he was in.

Mikasa obeyed and gently set him down. Eren stretched for a moment and then and started walking, Mikasa following by his side.

“Sorry for falling asleep, it was just so peaceful.” Eren apologized.

“It’s okay.” Mikasa reassured as they kept walking.

“You’re really strong.” Eren commented, realizing that Mikasa had carried him quite a long way from where they were.

“I know.” Mikasa replied, “Levi taught me a lot of self defense and made me work out a lot.”

Eren nodded, understanding. It sounded like him to train his younger relative.

The two of them kept walking as the sky grew darker above them.

 

* * *

 

Once they got back to the castle, they were served dinner and then got ready for bed.

“Goodnight, Eren.” Mikasa spoke when she realized they were alone in front of Eren’s bedroom door.

“Goodnight.” Eren replied, giving her a smile. He couldn’t see it but she was smiling as well under her helmet.

Eren watched her walk down to her room and go inside, closing the door behind her before going inside his. He got ready for bed and lay down, closing his eyes.

Eventually he fell into a deep slumber, pleasantly dreaming about the stories Mikasa told him.


	18. Fear

The runaway princess and her knight stayed at Sasha’s cabin for a few days.

“We’ll be back around supper time.” Sasha informed the two before heading out. Her and her father were going hunting early in the morning. The longer they stayed, the more comfortable they had gotten.

Bertholdt and Annie looked out the foggy windows as rain steadily fell from the sky. They decided that if the rain cleared up then they’d leave to continue their journey today.

“What do you want to do when we get back home?” Bertholdt decided to ask.

Annie pondered the question for a moment before she answered. “Me, you, and Reiner will build a house together and settle there.”

Bertholdt smiled at the thought. That idea sounded wonderful to him. After noticing his smile, Annie also smiled at the thought. They looked at each other for a few moments before Annie stood up from her spot on the couch and spoke.

“I’m going to wash our clothes.” she informed, “It looks like it might clear up soon, so I’ll dry them then.”

“Okay.” he replied, then got up and collected his dirty clothes for her to wash.

Once the clothes were washed and it was no longer raining, Annie and Bertholdt took their clothes out and draped them over a tree branch to dry.

While they were hanging their clothes to dry, they heard some noises coming from the nearby forest. The two of them exchanged glances and decided to check it out after grabbing something to use as a weapon, just in case.

As they inched closer, they found the source of the noise. There was a pack of wolves surrounding another one, which was injured it looked like. Once Annie and Bertholdt got there the others scurried away, leaving their prey. The hurt wolf just lay there, whimpering in pain.

Annie slowly made her way over to it, squatting down to its level and holding a hand out to calm it down. The wolf hesitantly rubbed its head against her hand, leaning into the touch for comfort. She looked up and met Bertholdt’s gaze, both wearing a sad expression on their face. He slowly made his way over as well to join her and started gently stroking the animals bloody fur.

The two of them stayed with the animal as the life slowly drained from it, feeling sorry for it. Once the animal had passed away, they found a shovel from Sasha’s cabin and dug a hole big enough to bury the animal. When they finished covering the hole back up they placed a rock over it as a gravestone.

“I wonder if it was innocent or guilty.” Annie quietly spoke, looking down at the stone.

“It might’ve been.” Bertholdt replied, “But death doesn’t discriminate…”

Annie nodded at his statement. She didn’t show it, but it made her sad thinking about it. The first person that popped into her mind was Bertholdt. She didn’t want to lose him. He was one of the only two people she had allowed to get close enough to her to form a bond. He even went out of his way to take her away from that miserable castle. She didn’t know how to explain it, but she did know that he was the one who made her really feel at ease.

The two of the were silent for a while as they stood in the same spot.

Eventually, one of them spoke up. “We should probably wash up.” Bertholdt said, looking at the blood and dirt on his hands and clothes, as well as Annie’s.

“Yeah.” Annie agreed, looking up at him.

He caught her gaze. “I-is something wrong?” he nervously stuttered.

She shook her head in response, averting her gaze at the ground before looking back up at him. “Help me wash my back?”

Bertholdt's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink at the suggestion. He knew she didn’t mean anything romantic by it, but knowing that she trusted him this much made him happy. He gave her a nod in response and they walked back inside the cabin with their dried clothes in their hands.

Annie filled the wooden tub with warm water, then got undressed while Bertholdt turned around to give her privacy. “You can look now.” Annie said after she was in and had her back turned towards him.

She washed everything except her back with a washrag, then held it out for him. He took it from behind her and started gently washing off her back, not wanting to rub her beautiful skin too hard.

“All done.” He informed when he thought he got all the dirt off.

“Okay.” She replied. He rung out the rag and placed it in the side of the tub, then reached over to fetch her a towel. Before he could, she spoke again. “You can get in and I’ll wash yours too, if you want.”

Bertholdt felt his cheeks quickly heat up at her offer. “O-okay.” he stuttered his answer. He got undressed while she was facing the other way and grabbed a clean wash rag, then sat down in the small open space there was left in the tub.

He washed everything besides his back and then handed her the rag, letting her use it to wash off his back. When she seemed to be done she rung out the rag and placed it on the side of the tub next to the other one, then suddenly rested her forehead against the middle of his back.

“Annie…?” Bertholdt quietly asked, surprised by the sudden gesture. After not getting a response, he didn’t question it anymore and just let it happen.

After a few silent moments, the two of them got out of the bath without looking at the other and dried off, then got dressed.

Soon after they got out Sasha and her father returned after hunting with a deer to skin and later cook.

While they skinned the deer Bertholdt and Annie read a book Sasha had suggested to pass the time until dinner was ready.

“Supper’s ready!” Sasha announced with a cheerful attitude. She was proud of the meal she had just fixed. Her father and guests complimented her meal, making her smile.

During dinner, the two guests informed Sasha that they would leave tomorrow morning. Sasha pouted, because she really enjoyed their company, but she understood.

When they were all done Sasha’s father took the dishes to wash. Sasha bid her guests goodnight and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Annie and Bertholdt got ready for bed in their temporary bedroom. After changing, they both crawled into bed like they’ve been doing the past few nights, since Annie refused to let him sleep on the hard and cold floor.

Instead of keeping a little distance between them like usual, Annie scooted a lot closer to his back which was facing her. This was odd. He wasn’t complaining, but he was concerned. She was being very close with him today.

“Annie… is something wrong?” Bertholdt decided to ask in a whisper.

Annie hesitated for a moment before responding. “Why do you ask?”

He carefully turned around to face her, meeting her gloomy expression. “It’s just that you’ve been really close to me today…”

Annie averted her gaze from him. “It’s nothing.”

She slightly moved away from him, turning on to her other side. “You can tell me.” he quickly assured her, not wanting her to be distant again.

Annie hesitated to answer again. “I think I’m just…” she started, not wanting to finish her sentence, “Scared.”

Bertholdt’s eyes slightly widened in surprise. _Annie? Scared?_

“Scared of what?” he asked.

“Losing you.” she replied.

Bertholdt was shocked again. Her words made him feel warm inside. _Annie was scared of losing him?_

They were both silent after that. Bertholdt wasn’t sure what to say now. She seemed like she needed comforting, but he sucked at that. But even so, he tried.

Nervously, he scooted closer to her and gently wrapped his arms around her smaller frame. He expected her to hit him, but she didn’t.

“Don’t worry, I’ll always be here.” he reassured her.

After hearing those words, Annie slowly relaxed in his arms.

Not too soon after that, both of them comfortably drifted off to sleep.


	19. Masquerade

“Pleeease come!”

Prince Eren was begging Hange to come to the masquerade ball his family had planned in a few days. The plan was for everyone to dress in a disguise, as well as getting a number on their invitation which paired you up with a random guest. Of course, Eren had handed her the one that had a matching number with Moblit.

“Why did you invite me?” Hange questioned, briefly reading the invitation she was handed.

“O-oh, I was just planning to invite a lot of the residents around here.” Eren lied, scratching the back of his head nervously.

“Well, thank you.” Hange replied, “I’ll try to make it.”

“Great! I hope to see you there!” Eren said before she went back inside.

After the door shut, him and Mikasa began making their way back to the castle. “That worked out pretty good.” Eren commented.

“Yeah.” Mikasa replied, “You gave her the same one you gave Moblit, right?”

“Yep.” Eren proudly answered.

They walked side by side down the stone-paved road. They were quiet for awhile until Eren decided to speak up again. “I’ve been having dreams lately of the stories you’ve told me…”

“Really?” Mikasa asked.

Eren nodded. “In all of them you wore the scarf I gave you.”

Mikasa let a smile make its way onto her lips. “Yeah, I always wore it. It meant a lot to me.”

“So my dreams are accurate?” Eren asked.

“Well, that part is. What happened in them?” Mikasa asked a question in return.

Eren had to take a moment to remember some of his dreams. “They were all the same almost. You were protecting me a lot. Once it was from a bunch of people, like Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt, and these people who looked like higher ranks, and even when I was getting beaten you tried to interfere.”

Mikasa nodded. “I did do that. Still do.”

“Yeah,” Eren agreed, looking down at his feet as he walked. “It’s like I was humanity’s hero, but you were mine.”

Mikasa just blushed at his words. They had made her happier than he could imagine.

 

* * *

 

The day of the masquerade ball finally arrived.

It was late in the evening, as the sun was setting on the horizon.

Hange had showed up, to their surprise, and got to meet Moblit. By the looks of it, they were hitting it off pretty well, even if Moblit was a nervous wreck. Eren and Mikasa’s plan was a success.

Zeke had met a girl who was stood up by her partner. Her name was Pieck, and they got along quite well. 

Eren stood by Armin and his knight while watching the other people have their fun.

Suddenly, a late guest showed up. All eyes were on them as they walked in, dressed in full armor, identical to Mikasa’s.

“Is that…” Eren started. Mikasa’s eyes went wide inside her helmet.

Guests around them began whispering a lot.

“Sir Levi...?”

“If that’s Levi, then who’s that?”

“Take off your helmet you imposter!”

Eyes went back and forth between the two knights who were supposed to be Levi. The other knight made their way over towards the Prince and his knight.

Mikasa glanced over at Eren, unsure what to do. Eren just placed a hand on her shoulder, giving a slight nod. Taking a deep breath, she slowly took off her helmet, revealing her true identity to everyone.

Mikasa didn’t earn any responses. The room was silent. No one knew how to react.

Finally, someone responded. “She’s beautiful!”

“And a great fighter!”

“Prince Eren is lucky!”

Mikasa blushed at the compliments. She did not expect this at all. A smile made its way onto her face, relieved. Queen Carla and King Grisha had puzzled expressions.

The other knight took off his helmet, revealing that he was in fact Levi. Everyone cheered for him.

“This is my family.” Levi informed the crowd, “She came in my place. I apologize for the concerns.”

After the crowd settled down, Levi glanced over at an embarrassed Mikasa. “A word?”

They got outside and as expected, Mikasa received an earful.

“What were you thinking?! You could have at least told me before leaving and taking my place! Do you know how worried I was?!” Levi shouted.

Mikasa looked down at the ground, holding her arm. “I’m sorry.”

Levi let out a sigh, calming himself down. “Well, I don’t know why I’m surprised. You’d do anything to see that boy again, and I can’t stop you.”

Mikasa felt the shorter man reach up and ruffle her hair. “As much as I’m mad, I’m more relieved that you’re okay.”

“Really?” Mikasa asked.

“Of course, you’re the only family I have.” Levi answered, a faint smile visible on his face. “Now go have fun. We’ll talk about this more later. And Eren, stop eavesdropping.”

The last part confused Mikasa until she realized Eren walked out, his face red from embarrassment. “Sorry.”

Levi went back inside and left the two outside. Mikasa glanced at Eren, “Why were you eavesdropping?”

Eren took a moment to answer, “I was worried that he’d make you go home.”

“Oh.” Mikasa replied, “I think he’ll let me stay. I am an adult after all, I can take care of myself.”

Eren let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad.”

Mikasa smiled at this. “Me too.”

The two of them stood out there for a few moments before Eren spoke up again. “So… would you like to accompany me to the ball?”

His suggestion caused Mikasa to blush. “I would love to, but I don’t have a dress.”

“We’ll figure something out.” Eren assured, holding out his hand, “Come on.”

Mikasa smiled, still blushing, and took his hand. He led her upstairs, to find her something to wear. Eren let her inside his parent’s room and waited for her to pick out something from his mother’s closet. When she was finished getting dressed, she opened the door.

“Does it look okay?”

Eren stared in awe at her appearance. She had picked out his mother’s beautiful red dress, and she’d took her bind off from around her chest which helped her body fill out the dress even better. On her face was a white mask, still showing her grey eyes that looked metallic in the light.

“You look amazing.” Eren commented, smiling as he offered her his hand, “Let’s go."

Mikasa took his hand once again and followed him down the stairs, using her other hand to hold up her dress so she wouldn’t step on it.

When they got down there, everyone was watching them. Eren made his way to the middle of the ballroom and turned around to face Mikasa. “Shall we dance?”

“I don’t know how to dance…” Mikasa whispered to him.

Eren let out a small laugh, “You can knock out a man in a second, but can’t dance?”

Mikasa sheepishly averted her gaze from him, “Yeah…”

“Just follow my lead.” Eren said and took one of her hands, placing it on his shoulder. Then placed his on her lower back, still holding her other hand. With that, he slowly guided her, watching her get the hang of it.

After a while of dancing, the two of them stepped outside for some fresh air, and decided to go walking around the flower garden. The moon was shining brightly above them, illuminating some light for them.

“Thank you.” Mikasa spoke up, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

“For what?” he asked in response.

“Showing me how to dance.” she replied, “It was fun.”

“It’s no problem.” Eren assured her with a smile, “Thank you.”

Mikasa had a confused look on her face. “What for?”

“For making my life better.” Eren answered, stopping in his tracks. Another blush made its way onto Mikasa’s face. Eren was being unusually sweet today.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hands, looking down and holding them as he spoke. “Ever since you came here, I’ve been so much happier. I love spending time with you. I can be myself around you, and I know you’ll always stay by my side.”

His hands traveled from her hands to her waist, pulling her closer. Mikasa’s heart began beating fast as she placed her hands on his arms. He met her gaze and let his eyes close, leaning in closer to her face. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as well.

Their lips fit together perfectly, like a puzzle. Mikasa had been waiting for this moment for longer than he could imagine.

Eren reached up and placed one hand behind her head, letting his fingers tangle in her short, soft hair. Mikasa gently placed her hands on his chest. She could feel his heart beating like a drum.

They kissed like this for a few moments before finally pulling away for air. Both of their faces were red. Eren pressed his forehead against hers, meeting her gaze again. She looked beautiful in the pale moonlight. He wrapped his arms around her waist again.

“Sorry,” Eren spoke up, “I just... really like you.”

Mikasa smiled at him. “I’ve really liked you for a _long_ time.”

Eren returned the smile and closed his eyes.

 

They stayed like this for a while, quietly enjoying each other’s company with the only thing to listen to was each other's breathing.


	20. Redamancy

After they left Sasha’s cabin, Bertholdt and Annie made a lot of progress getting to their destination. If their map was correct, they’d be there in just a day or less. 

“It’s so nice out today.” Annie commented. 

“Yeah.” Bertholdt agreed, looking around at their surroundings. The sun had just began to rise above the horizon. 

As the day went on, they continued to walk, ignoring the soreness of their legs and feet. They made small talk while they did so, feeling much closer than before they left the castle. 

They soon stopped to take a break. They ate some of the small amount of food and drank the water Sasha had gave them to take with them. 

“I can’t believe we’re almost there.” Bertholdt spoke up. “It feels like we’ve been traveling for years.” 

“I feel the same.” Annie replied. 

The two of them finished their snacks and drank some more sips of water before relaxing some more. The sun had now made its way to the middle of the sky

“I’m sorry if I was acting weird these last few days.” Annie suddenly spoke up. 

Bertholdt glanced over at her, surprised. “You weren’t weird.” 

“I’m glad. I was worried that I was. I just felt… closer?” Annie let out a sigh and tucked some of her stray hair behind her ear, then added, “If that makes any sense.”

Bertholdt couldn’t hide his smile. He knows that Annie wasn’t used to expressing her feelings, so he greatly appreciated her words. “Annie,” he started, looking at her, “Don't worry, I… feel the same.” 

“Really?” she asked, looking up at him. 

He nodded, ignoring the feeling of his cheeks burning hot when he spoke. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” 

Annie’s cheeks were faintly a bright shade of red as she smiled and averted her gaze from him. 

After a few moments of silence, Bertholdt decided to stand up. “Should we get going?” he asked. 

Annie nodded and got up from her spot, turning around and grabbing her bag as she did. When she turned back around to face him, he was holding out something for her. 

“For me?” Annie asked. 

He nodded, his cheeks turning red as he scratched the back of his neck. “I just saw it and I thought it was pretty.” 

Annie gently took the flower from his hand and looked at it. It was a vibrant shade of violet with a yellow center. “It’s a Forget-Me-Not.” 

“O-oh, you know what it is?” Bertholdt asked, fascinated by the fact. 

Annie nodded before placing it behind her ear, trying to get it to stay while rubbing her tired legs. 

“Want me to carry you on my back?” Bertholdt offered. 

“Are you sure?” Annie asked before realizing how happy he was to offer it. 

He just gave a nod and crouched down, allowing her to climb on. She gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist. When she was secure, he stood up and began walking. He smelled like sweat, but she didn’t mind it. By now she had gotten used to his scent. 

“So, how did you know what kind of flower it was?” Bertholdt decided to ask, wanting to start more of a conversation. 

“I learned about flowers and their meanings back at the castle.” Annie answered. 

“What’s the meaning of the flower I gave you?” he questioned. Knights only had a basic education, while royalty got to learn so much more.

“It has a lot of meanings,” Annie started, “It resembles undying love, remembrance, connection, reminders of favorite memories, growing affection…” 

They continued to make small talk as they continued their journey. The sun made its way across the remainder of the sky as they did so.  After climbing a tall hill, they decided to rest for a moment. Once they reached the top, the sunset, as well as another kingdom, came into view. 

“We made it…” Annie said, looking over Bertholdt’s shoulder. 

Bertholdt gently let her down and the two of them sat side by side, watching the sunset over the horizon, where you could see Marley kingdom in the distance. They assumed Reiner was already there waiting for them. 

“I don’t think I ever properly thanked you,” Annie spoke up, looking over at him, “So thank you for doing this.”

“It was no problem.” Bertholdt replied, giving her a smile. “I was more than happy to help.” 

Annie didn’t say anything as she rested her head against his arm. They watched the sunset together in comfortable silence. 

Once the sun disappeared, the sky began growing darker and constellations, as well as fireflies, became visible. They decided to lay down in the grass for a while. 

“Do you know any constellations?” Bertholdt asked. 

“Yeah.” Annie answered, then pointed up at the sky, naming a few. “They were named after mythological figures. That one is Orion’s Belt, and then there’s Taurus the Bull. Or at least that’s what I was told.” 

“You know a lot.” Bertholdt commented, impressed by all of her knowledge. 

“I used to think that everything I was taught was useless, but now I think it’s interesting.” Annie replied. 

Bertholdt nodded in agreement. They lay there and gazed at the night sky.

The air was perfectly still around them and it was silent. That was, until the sound of sticks breaking was heard from behind them. Warily, Bertholdt gripped his dagger that was on his side in a pack. 

Before he could think, Bertholdt pushed Annie to the ground while a sword came crashing down beside them.

“Huh?” Annie questioned before using her arms to prop herself up, searching for the source. 

She then saw Bertholdt already up with rage trying to fend off the assailant with his dagger in hand. Bertholdt could barely dodge each vicious attack as the the mysterious attacker continued to slash at him relentlessly. The few stabs Bertholdt could sneak in did nothing to penetrate the metal armor protecting the well armed attacker.

Bertholdt couldn’t dodge forever and finally took a lethal slash to the abdomen.

Annie’s heart sank in her stomach at the sight in front of her. Bertholdt was on his knees, holding his wound while blood seeped through his fingers.

The attacker looked at Annie and laughed, “Your noble knight is dead, and you will be too soon!”

Bertholdt took this opportunity with the last of his energy to spin on his knees and stab the attacker deep behind his right leg, above the knee, disabling his leg.

“Why you-,” the attacker said, before being tackled to the ground by Annie. She then took the knife from the back of his leg and began to brutally stab him over and over. All her pent up rage and emotions came out at once.

She continued to stab the lifeless body, full of rage, until a familiar hand was placed on her shoulder. Bertholdt was on his knees, one hand on her shoulder and the other holding his wound.

She looked at him with death in her eyes. Seeing the face of someone who helped her run away from her terrible life, the face that would risk his life to defend her, the face she loved, made her anger quickly turn to sobbing. Her head fell to his chest and the tears kept flowing down her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she cried. 

They held each other in silence for a while. After her senses cleared up, her concern switched to Bertholdt. He was losing a lot of blood. Annie quickly tore off some of her shirt to use as a bandage. 

Annie attempted to prop him up, but seeing how weak he was from the blood loss she decided to use all her strength to carry him. 

“I’m g...glad you’re s...safe...” he managed to say, closing his eyes as blood dripped down his lip. 

“Don’t talk.” was all she said, looking down at him with a worried expression. 


End file.
